Laptop & Home Office

While you're at Octopus, you'll probably work from home a lot. To be productive, you're going to need a few essential things:

• A fast, capable computer

• A headset (so you can hear us) and a microphone (so we can hear you) for video calls

• A desk and chair designed for office work (the kitchen table or couch do not count)

• A solid internet connection

To enable this, we have several programs available.

Laptop Program

You can choose a Mac or Windows laptop with a 14-inch or 16-inch screen size. Depending on your role, you will get either a standard or power-user machine.

The current specifications that you will be supplied with are:

	Mac	Windows
Standard User	M3 Pro 36GB RAM 1TB SSD	Intel Core i7-13700H 32GB RAM 1TB SSD
Power User	M3 Max 64GB RAM 2TB SSD	Intel Core i9-13900H 64GB RAM 2TB SSD

Laptops are replaced every three years. Read the Laptop Policy for full details on how it all works.

Peripherals Program

We will supply you with the peripherals needed for your work at Octopus. We have carefully selected options suitable for work purposes and build quality that will last at least three years. Everyone will be provided with the following:

• Headset with a microphone

• Webcam

• External monitor

You can also request:

• A second external monitor

• External keyboard and mouse

• Docking station

When starting at Octopus and when it's time to refresh your devices, you can choose from the list below, and we will order them for you.

Headset:

• Bose QuietComfort 45 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones

• Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

• Jabra Evolve2 65 Flex

Webcam:

• Dell Pro Webcam - WB5023 - 2K QHD

Monitors:

• 1 or 2x Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor - U2723QE

• 1 x Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Hub Monitor - U3223QE

• 1 x Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved USB-C Hub Monitor - U3423WE

Keyboard and Mouse:

• Dell Premier Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard and Mouse US English - KM7321W

• Alienware RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - AW410K

• Alienware Wired/Wireless Gaming Mouse - AW610M

• Logitech MX Keys S Combo - MX Master 3S, MX Keys S & MX Palm Rest

• Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad

• Apple Magic Keyboard without Keypad

• Apple Magic Mouse

• Apple Magic Trackpad

Dock:

• Dell Thunderbolt Dock - WD22TB4

• CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt Dock

Read the Peripherals Policy for full details on how it all works.

Home Office Allowance

Octopus also provides a Home Office Allowance program, in which we match 50% of what you spend on eligible home office equipment in a calendar year. See the budget per year below:

Location	Maximum budget
Australia	AUD $1,200 including GST
United States	USD $960 including sales taxes
United Kingdom	GBP £720 including VAT
New Zealand	NZD $1,320 including GST
Canada	CAD $1,320 including sales taxes
Countries using Euro	EUR €960 including sales taxes/VAT
Denmark	DKK 7,200 including sales taxes/VAT
Poland	PLN 4,080 including any sales taxes/VAT
Remote.com employees	Please reach out to our People team to calculate the currency conversion.

We pay 50% as a way of giving you the flexibility to choose what works best for you, whilst balancing the need to spend the company's money wisely, and avoiding fringe benefit tax issues that crop up if we paid the full amount. The intent behind this is to say that if you think you need a new top-of-the-line Aeron office chair, or a standing desk, or a new keyboard, Octopus will pay for half of it.

You can also claim items under the Home Office Allowance and Occupational Health and Safety program, such as fire extinguishers and fire blankets.

Item type	Octopus reimburses
Fire Extinguisher	50%
First Aid Kit	50%
Fire Blanket	50%

Read the Home Office Allowance policy page for full details on how it all works.

Your Obligations

Ultimately, if you don't have a solid internet connection, a workable home office environment, and a working laptop and headset, you're going to have a hard time contributing at Octopus or doing the best work of your life. Our programs help, but ultimately it's up to you to find a solution.

For example, if your home internet connection is unstable, and your Zoom calls drop out, we expect you to find a solution. We can help or make suggestions - such as finding a different place to work from (see Where You Work). If you've moved to a new home and it turns out the best internet you can get is dial-up, well, tough. Don't work from home. Attempting to is only letting your teammates down.

You also have an obligation to make sure that the place you choose to work from is safe. We're not going to send inspectors to your home to check that you've replaced your fire alarm batteries or that you're not writing code from your bathtub. If it's not safe, or you're concerned about your safety, find a different location to work from.

Invest In Yourself

If you spend the next 5 years working at Octopus hunched over a kitchen table squinting at your laptop screen, struggling to hear through your laptop speakers, or not being invited to Zoom calls because your sound quality is so bad, you're going to have a bad time. You'll be less likely to progress in your career or to make the most of your time at Octopus.

While Octopus makes the programs above available, we also expect you to invest in yourself a bit. Everybody at Octopus is paid well, and far above the living wage. Consider how much money you save on bus or train tickets or lunches out by working from home, and consider reinvesting just some of that into yourself and your home office setup.

Scott Hanselman makes a good case for treating your back, brain, computer, and chair as investments.

We can't give you tax advice, but you can probably find someone local who will. Ask them about whether there are ways to invest in your home office that are tax effective.

Final Note

The Laptop and Home Office allowance programs exist to serve a purpose for the company. They're often seen as a perk, and they are. But the perk isn't their primary purpose. Nobody ever started a company just to decide what gadgets should be covered under a program, and administering these programs can be quite a headache. Try to stick to the intent of the program, and spend Octopus's money (and time!) wisely.

🙋‍♂️ Why don't you have a program for XYZ?

We could make the programs above more generous, or add extra programs for other things. Maybe we could offer gym memberships or yoga retreats. But ultimately, your salary and the budget for these programs all come out of the same pool of money.

If you think Octopus should have a program where we pay for your home internet, you're of course welcome to re-allocate that part of your salary to your home internet. Our preference is for most of our "people costs" to go to salaries, not perks that only a few people really use, and leave you free to spend your own money.